Winners & Losers From the Week That Was

Winners & Losers for the week that was in business and deals, Deal Journal’s weekly look back and grading system of some of the biggest stories. Follow us on Twitter @WSJDealJournal.

Winner — Clearwire –In the week’s big deal, Japan’s internet and telecom giant Softbank is in talks to take a majority stake in Sprint for somewhere around $12.8 billion. But Clearwire gets the win because Softbank doesn’t want Sprint unless Sprint controls Clearwire, which would require a potentially large premium. Clearwire shares jumped 70% Thursday and more than doubled on the week.

Winner –Workday – The much hyped IPO priced at $28, well above its expected range, and then really took off. The stock finished its first day of trading up 74% at $48.69, among the top five IPO performances of the year. The human-resources software company continues a trend of hot IPOs for businesses whose clients are corporations instead of consumers.

Loser — EADS-BAE Systems – Their ambitious plan to form a European air and defense giant by merger the Airbus parent with BAE Systems came to a crash landing this week. The two sides said they had ironed out many of the corporate details including price, structure and governance plans, but failed to navigate the triangle of government stakes. The U.K., France and Germany weren’t swayed, and now the CEOs of both companies have to move forward.

Loser — Anyone facing Jana Partners – The activist investing firm run by Barry Rosenstein didn’t make any big moves this week, but a WSJ profile of Rosenstein spells out the fear he’s reaped, including one CEO who began to wretch in a meeting. Rosenstein may do more than two hours of yoga a day and may have designed Jana’s offices in calming topes, but his ideas cut like a knife. CEOs have nightmares about this guy.

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Deal Journal is an up-to-the-minute take on the deals and deal makers that shape the landscape of Wall Street, including mergers and acquisitions, capital-raising, private equity and bankruptcy. In short, wherever money changes hands. Deal Journal is updated throughout each trading day with exclusive commentary, analysis, data, news flashes and profiles. The Wall Street Journal’s David Benoit is the lead writer, with contributions from other Journal reporters and editors. Send news items, comments and questions to deals@wsj.com.